Sunday, August 17, 2025

Time out




פרשת ראה
אבד תאבדון- אבד ואח"כ תאבדון
ע"ז מ"ה ע"ב
מכאן לעוקר ע"ג שצריך לשרש אחריה רש"י (חומש)


               HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

The Sefer טעמי המנהגים (p. 553) writes that when a clock was first installed in the Shul of Pressburg, the Chareidim strongly protested. They felt it was inappropriate to introduce new innovations into the decorum of a בית כנסת. The ראשי וטובי העיר*(community leaders) paid no attention to their objection.

At that point, R. Yechiel Michel Kitzeh zt"l (מחבר ספר שלמי נדבה) urged the Chareidim to take stones in hand and smash the clock. He threw the first rock, and the others followed. The clock was shattered into countless fragments. Then R. Y.M. Kitzeh took an axe, broke the remains to bits, and declared:

"Modernity is אביזרייהו דע"ז—an accessory of idolatry—that must be uprooted."

The שו"ת שואל ומשיב (3:1:299) was asked about a related case: A person had donated a clock to a Shul, and after it was mounted on the wall, the Chareidim removed it and cast it out. The שאלה was: What is the halachic status of the clock now?

This very likely happened in the times the Chasam Sofer was
the Rav. Yet it would seem he didn't oppose the clock in the Shul


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